by Tristan L'Hermite François (1601 - 1655)
Translation © by Stephen Shea

I tremble when I see your face
Language: English  after the French (Français) 
I tremble when I see your face
Floating with my desires,
So much do I fear that my sighs
Might cause it to be shipwrecked.

For fear of that happening
Don’t entrust so freely
To that unstable element
All the treasures of Nature.

Do you wish, by a sweet privilege,
To place me above all human beings?
Make me drink from the hollow of your hands
So long as the water does not dissolve the snow they are made of.

Note: this is a translation of stanzas 22-24.


Text Authorship:

  • Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2018 by Stephen Shea, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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This text was added to the website: 2018-11-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 80